September 13, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association:

Statements made this week by the Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF) about the transparency of reporting farmed salmon escapes and the potential risks involved with escapes cannot go unchallenged.

Salmon farmers do not want to lose a single fish. Their fish are their livelihood. When escapes do happen, they are largely a result of extreme weather events. Occasionally escapes are due to equipment malfunction or human error when fish are being handled (i.e. harvesting, fish health inspections). Salmon farmers are already transparent about escapes. When escapes happen, New Brunswick salmon farming companies voluntarily report it to the provincial regulator, who in turn notifies numerous groups, including the ASF, that are members of the NB Aquaculture Containment Liaison Committee. Other members include the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the NB Department of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries, salmon producers, the NB Conservation Council and the NB Salmon Council. The NB Aquaculture Containment Liaison Committee communicates regularly. This week, the group discussed adding other groups on a case-by-case basis that may wish to be informed of an escape for a specific reason.

ASF spokesperson Neville Crabbe stated in the media this week that: “When you have spawning that’s occurring between aquaculture escapees and wild fish, you are wiping away potentially 10,000 years of evolution in a single spawning event.”

We reject that hyperbole. ASF knows full well that farmed salmon are very poorly suited to survival in the wild or reproductive success. Fearmongering about potential evolutionary disaster after a small escape does a disservice to the collaborative efforts between salmon farmers and the members of the NB Aquaculture Containment Liaison Committee. Mr. Crabbe’s comments also conveniently ignore any potential impacts of over 100 years of Atlantic salmon enhancement efforts, including ASF’s own sea ranching project in the 1970s and 80s that saw large releases of a variety of salmon strains into rivers and estuaries.

Salmon farming began – with ASF as a partner – as a way to address the decline of the commercial and recreational fishery for Atlantic salmon. Salmon farming is a responsible, sustainable and innovative means to provide adequate food supply to meet the world’s population growth while helping to reduce the pressure on wild fish stocks. Our farming practices and technology continue to evolve. Fish containment will always be a top priority as will our wild salmon conservation and enhancement efforts. Farmers work with a wide variety of partners, including First Nations, as part of the innovative Fundy Salmon Recovery project that is now seeing inner Bay of Fundy salmon return to one river in Fundy National Park in unprecedented numbers. (fundysalmonrecovery.com)

September 12, 2019 — Canadian and U.S. environmental groups are urging the aquaculture and seafood industry to boycott AquaBounty’s Atlantic salmon eggs to eliminate the risk of any accidental mix-ups.

Friend of the Earth U.S., Friends of the Earth Canada, the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN), the Council of Canadians – PEI Chapter, Earth Action PEI, Ecology Action Centre (Nova Scotia), The MacKillop Centre for Social Justice (PEI), and Vigilance OGM all expressed concern that “human error could lead to the inadvertent production of GM (genetically modified) salmon in open net-pens and the resultant environmental risk,” they said in a CBAN press release.

September 10, 2019 — The following was released by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council is meeting in Homer for the first time since July 1983, when Homer-area resident Clem Tillion was then serving as Council chairman. The Council will be in Homer again September 30 through October 9, 2019. Fishery managers, commercial and recreational fishermen, fishing families, and other local and regional stakeholders are all encouraged to attend.

The Council agenda includes an evaluation of modifying halibut bycatch limits in the Bering Sea to take into account halibut abundance, a final action on a proposal to change observer fees for partial coverage fisheries, discussion of potential changes to the Bering Sea cod fisheries, and development of salmon management for the portion of the Cook Inlet fishery access and management that occurs in Federal waters. “We’re excited for the Council back to meet in Homer and to hear directly from the local fishermen and stakeholders that have an interest in Federal fisheries.” – Simon Kinneen, Council Chair.

The Council will be holding its first “Introduction to the Council process” workshop on Tuesday, October 1 from 5:30 – 7pm at the Best Western. “We are reaching out to stakeholders who may not normally have a chance to attend a Council meeting, to provide an opportunity to learn about the process, and how to participate effectively,” notes David Witherell, Executive Director. The Council introductory workshop will also offer a brief outline of what topics are on the agenda so participants can gauge how they might be of interest.

Local stakeholders may also be interested in some of the Council committees that are meeting this week. Monday September 30, from 9-5 at the Best Western, the Council’s Cook Inlet Salmon Committee will be informally discussing progress on federal management of the salmon fishery in the EEZ of Cook Inlet. The Council’s Community Engagement Committee will be meeting Tuesday, October 1 from 8-5 at the Land’s End to develop strategies to improve the Council’s engagement with rural and Alaska Native communities. NMFS is also hosting a Recreational Fishery Roundtable Wednesday, October 2 from 5:30 – 7pm at the Best Western.

All of the Council’s meetings are public, with the exception of executive session. Local input is important and can provide critical insight from those ‘on the water’ who are affected by the Council’s actions. The Council’s meetings and presentations are broadcast through a link on the webpage (www.npfmc.org) and public comment is accepted for every meeting ahead of time through the electronic meeting portal: meetings.npfmc.org. That same meeting portal includes all details, documents and related materials for every meeting.

Not the 1958 sci-fi movie, but the giant mass of warm water that formed in the Pacific Ocean in 2013 and continued to spread until 2015. It wreaked havoc on the West Coast marine ecosystem and dampened salmon runs.

Scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have identified another expanse of warm water and say this marine heatwave could rival the blob. The impact on sea life could be devastating.

Ocean surface temperature maps show the warm mass stretching from Alaska to California. It currently “ranks as the second-largest marine heatwave in terms of area in the northern Pacific Ocean in the last 40 years, after ‘the Blob,'” according to NOAA.

September 5, 2019 — Scientists from the University of British Columbia, Fisheries and Ocean Canada, and the Pacific Salmon Foundation have discovered three new viruses that infect endangered Chinook and sockeye salmon – including one that was previously thought to only infect mammals.

These fish are considered to be ‘keystone species’ – meaning they have a disproportionately large impact on their ecosystem, making them a high priority for conservation. However, populations of both Chinook and sockeye salmon have been declining in the Pacific Northwest for the last three decades despite increased fishing regulations.

Researchers believe viruses may be part of the cause of the salmon declines. To date, most research on salmon-infecting viruses has focused on the piscine orthoreovirus, or PRV. PRV can cause ‘Heart and Skeletal Muscle Inflammation Disease’ (HSMI) in Atlantic salmon, devastating farmed stocks. However, PRV does not have the same disease-causing effect on Chinook and sockeye salmon.

September 3, 2019 — Chinese consumers are increasingly interested in sustainability, according to Song Peng, the CEO of Qingdao Beiyang Jiamei Aquatic Products Co. Established in 2009, the firm distributes seafood to supermarkets and online markets in China under the “Seamix” brand, using the marketing slogan “Food safety, responsibility, sustainability.” The firm’s imports include Arctic shrimp, cod, salmon, Ecuadorian shrimp, and Greenland halibut. SeafoodSource talked to Song about the firm’s marketing strategy for certified sustainable products.

SeafoodSource: When and how did you discover the MSC certification program?

Peng: We started as a processor and then entered the domestic market. In 2010, we started to process MSC-certified cod and haddock for the European and American markets. We are now the leading supplier of MSC products in China market in terms of SKUs [stock keeping units].

September 3, 2019 — More than 1,100 sea lions could be killed annually along a stretch of the Columbia River on the Oregon-Washington border to boost faltering populations of salmon and steelhead, federal officials said Friday.

The National Marine Fisheries Service said it’s taking public comments through Oct. 29 on the plan requested by Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Native American tribes.

The agency says billions of dollars on habitat restoration, fish passage at dams and other efforts have been spent in the three states in the last several decades to save 13 species of Columbia Basin salmon and steelhead protected under the Endangered Species Act.